Putting technology to work for horticulture

Vineland’s focus on applied engineering and commercialization opportunities accelerates the development of engineering solutions for horticulture.

Vineland technologies and effective automation solutions ease labour challenges by providing process improvement to Canadian producers, processors and technology providers through collaborative and contract initiatives.

Innovation Challenge and Opportunity

Labour makes up the single largest input cost for nearly every horticultural product, cutting into margins and making it difficult for Canadian products to compete in a global market. Vineland’s Automation Solutions program aims to fill technology, knowledge and resource gaps that are hindering efficiency and opportunities when deploying technology in horticulture.

Program goals:

Develop and integrate robots, automation technologies and AI-based tools for the management of crop production, packaging and processing
Optimize crops and production systems to improve efficiency and facilitate the adoption of automation technologies

Projects currently underway and supported with funding from the Automation Cluster under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership include: